Tamping device for silos.



H. MYERS. TAMPING DEVICE FOR SILOS. APPLICATION FILED MAY 24'. 1912.

H MYERS. TAMPING DEVICE FOR SILOS.

APPLICATION FILED MAY24. 19!]. 1,248,754. Patented 001;. 23,1917,

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

$1, am; 727 M I HIRAM MYERS, OF STERLING, ILLINOIS.

TAMPING DEVICE .liOZl'zt SILOS.

Application filed May 24, 1917. Serial No. 170,650.

To all whom it may concern:

.erated on at all.

Be it known that I, HIRAM MYERS, a citizen of'the United States, residing at Sterling, in the county of Whiteside and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and use ful Improvemnts in Tamping Devices for Silos, of which the following is a specification.

My invention has reference to tamping devices for silos, and has for its purpose to assist in reducing to a compact'mass the material as it is introduced into the silo. Up to the present time this work has been quite generally accomplished by several workmen, whotramped upon the material as it was introduced into the silo, until the air was fully expelled therefrom. This has been found to be an unpleasant and distasteful operation, and one that has been avoided wheneverpossiblev 7 In the substitution of mechanical means for performing the tamping work it is necessary to employ a device which will permit a free passage of the silage downwardly to a point beneath the tamper, which must consequently have sufhcient'open space forthat purpose. This necessitates leaving openings of considerable extent in the body'of the tamper, and in raisingthe tamper and letting it fall again, the closed or solid portions of the device are liable to act constantly at the same point, and on that portion of the silage immediately beneath the same, while a large part of the material will not be op- Under these conditions the operation would not be uniform and could not be successful.

The chief purpose of the present device is to provide means whereby the tamper will bejgiven a twisting or spiral movement as it is raised, and will then be permitted to drop straight downward upon the. material beneath. By this means the position of the tamper'is continually changed, and none of the silage is omitted from thetamping op eration. V v i In the drawings: Figure 1 is avertical medial section of a silo equipped with my invention. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the tamper. Fig. 3 is a lower plan View, enlarged, of one of the casings 16. Fig. 4: shows'the outer end of one of the casings 16, in side view. Fig. 5 is ad'etail of one of the arches 23. Fig. 6 illustratesa mechanism for operating the tamper.

1 represents the wall of a silo of ordinary construction, having a roof 2 and floor 3.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented. 23,, V

4; is a tamper, shown in preferred form, in

shape of a cross, united centrally by'plates 5 secured together in any usual manner. This construction is more specially adapted for tampers formed of wood, which is'suitley the cable 12 passes downwardly over a pulley 14: and thence down under a pulley 15 to the mechanism for actuating the tamper, hereinafter set forth.

able for the desired purpose, if sufficiently i Secured to each of the arms'T is a casing 1 16-, in which is slidable a carrier" 17 in the outer end of which is held: a roller'f18. The carrier 17 is guided by means of pins 19 and 20, having play in slots 21 in-the sides of the casing 16. The carrier and roller are 5 held normally in extended position bym'e'ans of. an extensilecoiled spring 22, interposed in the casing 16 between the carrier 17 and arm 7.

, The extension8 passes under an arch 23, i

which limits the upward movement of such arm. In the upper part of the arch is a setscrew 24, the lower end of which contacts the part 8, and by varying the position of the set-screw theh'eight to which the arm 8 can be raised maybe-increased or lessened. The arm 7 is held normallyin elevated position, with the roller 18 out of contact with the wall of the silo, by means of springs interposed between such arms and blocks 26 on the tamper arms.

The'arms 7 are given; a 'slighttwist at their outer ends, which curvature is 1m- -parted to the casings 16',' resulting in the rollers 18 being turned'out of av'erticalline,

and inclined, when in contact with the silo,

to move in a spiral direction. As the degree of angle, and direction of inclination thereof, is the same in each roller, the combined force of such rollers tends to im'partt th tamper 4, at such times as such rollers are in contact with the silo, a rotating movement. When poweris applied to move the cable p ard y i the lk the up movement thereof, imparted through the cables 9, raises the arms 8, forcing the rollers 18 outwardly and downwardly, until they are in contact with the Wall of the silo. This is accomplished at once as the cable begins to move upwardly, and as such moveresting on the material in the silo, so that as soon as the strain on the cable is released, the tamper drops directly downward, striking the silage with considerable force, and at a different point from that which it formerly occupied. In the continued operation the position of the tamper is thus constantly varied, and all portions of the material receive a pounding therefrom, resulting in a uniform packing thereof.

The rollers 18 are normally held at the outer ends of the casings 16 by means of the springs 22, such springs also holding the rollers yieldingly, so that such rollers will readily pass over inequalities in the wall of the silo, without danger of becoming wedged therein.

It will be obvious that the operation of the tamper must approximate that of a piledriver, comprising a steady upward movement, followed by a quick drop. This may be accomplished in a number of ways, but for the. purpose of illustration only there is shown in Fig. 6 a mechanism by means of which the desired movement and quick release may be given to the cable 12. Nothing is claimed broadly herein on this part of the device, however. In said figure 3O represents a bed-plate mounted on legs 31, and

provided with supports 32 in which is r0- tatably mounted a shaft 33 to which power may be applied in any desired manner. Fixed to the shaft 33 is a wheel 34, having a segmental gear 35, the teeth of which are in mesh with the teeth of a rack-bar 3 6, slidable on the bed-plate 30. On the lower side of the bar36 is an car 37 to which is attached a gripping device 38, adapted to engage the cable 12 and hold the same tightly during the movement of the rack-bar. The rotation of the wheel 34 causes "a movement of the rack-bar outwardly until the last tooth in the segment 35 disengages the rack-bar, .permitting the return thereof to its former position, and resulting in the dropping of the tamper 4. As the height of the material rises in the silo the position of the grip 38 on the cable is varied to accord therewith, the slackcable being wound upon a drum 39 rotatably mounted in the frameof the machine. In its return movement the rack-bar 36 is arrested at the end of its inner movement by a stop 40 fixed to the bed-plate 30.

In order that the weight of the bar 36 may not interfere with the quick release of the cable 12 there is attached to such bar a cable 41, passing under a pulley 42 on a support 43 fixed to the frame of the machine,

thence over a pulley 44 on the upper part of said support, and then downwardly to a point near the ground, where it is provided with a Weight 45, whichcounterbalances the weight of the rack-bar. In the outward movement of the rack-bar the weight is raised to a point near the top ofthe'support 41, and upon the release of such bar drops back to the ground. The length of the cable 41 is such that the weight strikes the ground or other support just in advance of the impact of the rack-bar against the stop 40, whereby any danger of breakage of the cable 41 or other parts is precluded.

There has been herein shown and devention, but the same may be varied and adapted in many particulars without departing from the spirit thereof.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is: i V

1. A device of the class described, comprising a tamper adapted for vertical movement in a cylindrical body and provided with means for cooperating with the wall of said. body for imparting to said tamper a spiral rotation in its upward movement, such means being inoperative-in thedownward movement thereof.

2. In combination with a silo, a tamper formed of a plurality of arms, movable vertically in said silo, and provided on said wall of the silo in the upward movement of the tamper, to cause a partial rotation thereof, said means being inoperative in the downward movement of the tamper.

3. In a device of the class described, the combination with a silo of a tamper vertically movable therein; a plurality of rollers supported on said tamper in proximity to arms with means for engagement with the the w all of said silo, and having an inclina- I tion out of a vertical plane; means for calls mg said rollers to engage the wall ofsaid silo in the upward movement thereof, to impart to said tamper a rotary movement,and means for holding said rollers away from the wall of said silo in the downward movement. of the tamper.

4. I11 a device of the class described, the combination with a silo, a tamper vertically movable therein, having a plurality ofradial arms; levers fulcrumed on said arms, and provided at their outer ends with rollers in proximity to the wall of said silo, and disposed at aninclination with a vertical line,

so as to impart a rotary movement ,to said tamper when said rollers are in engagement with the wall of the silo; a hoisting device extensions; casings fixed on said arms; rollers yieldably held in the outer ends of said casings, in position at an inclination from a vertical line, and adapted to engage the wall of said silo when said hoisting device is in operation, to impart a rotary movement to said tamper; and means for holding said rollers normally out of engagement with said silo.

6. In a device of the class described, the

J .combination with a silo, of a tamping device vertically movable therein; a plurality of arms pivoted on said ta'mping device, having extensions projected inwardly, and each given a corresponding tort out of a straight line; a hoisting device having a swivel connection with said extensions;

arches embracing said extensions and provided with adjustable means for limiting the movement of said extensions; rollers yieldingly supported on the ends of said arms in proximity to the wall of said silo, and means for holdin saidarms normally with said rollers out of engagement with the wall of said silo.

7 In a device of the class described, the combination with a silo, of a tamper Vertically movable therein; levers fulcrumed on said tamper; a cable supported centrally of said silo and swivelly connected with the inner ends of said levers; means for suitably operating said cable, to elevate said tamper and permit the same todrop; rollers on the outer ends of said levers in proximity to the wall of said silo and disposed in an inclined position, to impart a rotary movement-to said tamper when the rollers are in engagement with the wall of the silo; means for limiting the movement of said levers; and means for holding said levers normally in position with said rollers out of engagement with the silo.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

HIRAM MYERS.

Witnesses:

W. N. I-IAsKELL, I FRANK W. 'I-IAsxnLn.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. 0. 

